I had received these boots over a month ago. They came as the replacements for the REV’IT! Freestyle boots that I had trouble with. REV’IT! was kind enough to let me replace the older style boots with their new product. And Beachmoto.com was instrumental in making this happen.

I am very much a creature of comfort. I strongly dislike when my feet are uncomfortable. I dislike even more when my feet are hot. I’d much rather have my feet a little cold than a little hot. So no wonder I was pleasantly surprised when REV’IT! added this boot to their 2008 line up. According to them “these boots are fully vented thanks to mesh panels on the sides”. I was excited. I wanted to have them. Summer weather in Southern California is merciless. I’ve been on rides when temperature would go over 100F. So one can only imagine how excited and anxious I was to try these boots on and start riding. Did I mention I was really excited?

First thing I noticed about the Air Blends is that they have much better protection than the Freestyle boots. The Freestyles had only three velcros that would lock the boot on a foot and try to keep it in place. I can’t call that the best safety feature in case of a fall. Secondly the Freestyles were lower there fore offering less ankle protection and support. Conversely the Airblends are taller. More like the taller version of basketball sneakers with side plates protecting your ankle bones on both the outside and inside. The velcros are replaced with a lacing system with a velcro flap going over it.

After logging approximately a couple of thousand miles wearing these boots I will admit that they are not FULLY ventilated. They become fully ventilated however if you are crafty enough and are able to turn your feet perpendicular to the way you are going. I have done that on longer stretches of rides and that makes the boots fully ventilated. The mesh is only on the sides of the boot while the toe and the lacing are completely covered up and have no mesh material on them (which is understandable). So obviously the trick is to let the air flow from one side of the boot to another. That is why turning your feet perpendicular to your bike works like a charm. The boots still offer significant ventilation even without that trick and I did not feel hot in them. Especially when I wore the Tour Summer socks.

Another really nice feature of these boots is the boots inside material. It makes them so easy to put on and off. My foot slips right in and out. The laces are really cool and easy to operate as well. It is virtually effortless to loosen them up and then slide your foot out of the boot.

At this point I am unsure if I am going to require a special “winter” riding boots. I am in Southern California after all. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 55F here. And as I said earlier I’d rather prefer my feet to be a little cold. It is possible that with the use of warmer riding socks the Air Blend boots would suffice for winter riding out here as well. I will try adding a winter riding in the Air Blends once the winter comes.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Motorcycles, Street, Riding, Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.